An Interview of the Soul

"When the impulses which stir us to profound emotion are integrated with the medium of expression, every interview of the soul may become art,” Hans Hofmann once wrote. “This is contingent upon mastery of the medium." Born March 21, 1880, Hofmann both excelled at self-expression and teaching others to master the medium of painting. In many ways, Hofmann is the father of both Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting in America, having taught such diverse artists as Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Larry Rivers, Red Grooms, and, almost, despite an introduction through Krasner, Jackson Pollock. While teaching, Hofmann continued to paint in his own unique style, creating beautiful works such as The Golden Wall (above, from 1961), which epitomizes Hofmann’s concept of “push and pull” in creating the illusion of movement and depth in violation of the classical idea of perspective.

"Colors must fit together as pieces in a puzzle or cogs in a wheel," Hofmann said in reference to his theory of “push and pull.” In Equinox (above, from 1958), for example, the cooler colors (the blues) seem to recede into the distance as the warmer colors (red and yellow) appear to move forward, creating an illusory effect of movement that intellectually you know is impossible but emotionally and aesthetically you can believe in. When PBS broadcast a special on Hofmann in 2003, they included on their website a Push and Pull Puzzle interactive feature that allows you to play with the “cogs” of color that generate such perpetual motion machines. When Pollock and the other Abstract Expressionists longed for a way to create motion on a flat canvas, they looked to Hofmann. When the Color Field artists searched for ways to express emotion through the interaction of pure planes of color, Hofmann provided the answers for them, too.

Hofmann’s life and career span almost the entire history of modern art. In Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century, Hofmann met and learned from Picasso, Braque, and Matisse. From them he developed his approach to the figure, as seen in his 1942 Self-Portrait (above). Later, Hofmann explored the world of color with Robert and Sonia Delaunay, whose Orphism certainly played a role in his “push and pull” theories. Through his teaching, Hofmann connects the roots of European modern art with the golden age of post-World War II American art. Fame for Hofmann himself, however, came late in life. His first solo exhibition came at the age of sixty-four. As his students rose to prominence and critics began searching for their origins, they discovered the talents of Hofmann, who patiently waited for his day in the sun. It wasn’t until Hofmann reached his late seventies that he finally gave up teaching to devote himself to his painting entirely. With patience not only for his students but also for the praise long overdue, Hofmann literally gave his entire life to the pursuit of art.

A Man of Few Words

Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Drug Store, 1927, oil on canvas; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Bequest of John T. Spaulding, © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston


Continuing the season of Edward Hopper surrounding the exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, the NGA presents Edward Hopper: A National Gallery of Art Film Presentation narrated by comic actor Steve Martin. In this short, 30-minute film now available on DVD and to be shown on PBS in America, the NGA condenses the impressive exhibit catalogue into a beginner’s course on Hopper, yet adds the captivating element of film of the man himself. Juxtaposing photos of the buildings and locations Hopper painted with the paintings themselves, the viewer sees through Hopper’s eyes, recognizing the stark beauty and emotional weight of familiar settings such as Drug Store (above).

Edward Hopper (1882-1967), Nighthawks, 1942, oil on canvas; The Art Institute of Chicago, Friends of American Art Collection, 1942.51; Photograph by Robert Hashimoto

Carol Troyen, co-curator of the exhibit from the MFA in Boston; Judith Barter, co-curator from the Art Institute of Chicago; and Avis Berman, author of Edward Hopper’s New York provide expert commentary on the man and his work. Artists Red Grooms and Eric Fischl discuss their debt to Hopper and present their own works as evidence. Seeing these experts discuss Hopper while sitting in his Greenwich Village studio and then seeing Hopper himself interviewed in archival footage in that same studio, you feel a palpable connection between those speaking today and the past. To see and hear Hopper speak in that trademark laconic fashion with downturned eyes, you instantly connect the man who had no time or desire for small talk with paintings such as Nighthawks (above).

Carroll Moore, writer, director, and producer of the video, makes wonderful use of the medium to explore the relationship between Hopper and cinema. After watching a clip from The Public Enemy as an example of film noir in Hopper’s work, you almost expect Jimmy Cagney to walk out of one of Hopper’s pictures. Hopper’s influence on Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, Terrence Mallick’s Days of Heaven, Wim Wenders’ The End of Violence, and even Steve Martin’s Pennies from Heaven (directed by Herbert Ross) proves just how powerful a hold Hopper could take (and still takes) on the creative mind.

Edward Hopper (1882-1967), The Lighthouse at Two Lights, 1929, oil on canvas; Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hugo Kastor Fund, 1962, Photograph © 1990 The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Location shots in Maine and Massachusetts to show where Hopper painted such works as The Lighthouse at Two Lights (above) allow you to experience yourself the feelings Hopper may have had in those surroundings. One of the DVD extras presents productions stills from the crew’s time in Cape Cod and Gloucester following in Hopper’s footsteps that will make you wish you were there with them. Carroll Moore and the NGA have created a great introduction to Hopper that also works as a wonderful refresher course for people who already know (or think they know) Hopper.

[Many thanks to Microcinema International for providing me with a review copy of this DVD. Many thanks also to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, for providing me with the images above from the exhibit.]